Tough passages are either ignored, twisted to make them more comfortable to read, or excused in some way. What passages do you have a hard time with?
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11 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 âSpeak to the Israelites and say to them: If any manâs wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13 if a man has had intercourse with her but it is hidden from her husband, so that she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her since she was not caught in the act; 14 if a spirit of jealousy comes on him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes on him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 âThen the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord; 17 the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 The priest shall set the woman before the Lord, dishevel the womanâs hair, and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. In his own hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, âIf no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husbandâs authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under your husbandâs authority, if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you,â 21 âlet the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse and say to the womanââthe Lordmake you an execration and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge;[a] 22 now may this water that brings the curse enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, your uterus drop!â[b] And the woman shall say, âAmen. Amen.â
23 âThen the priest shall put these curses in writing and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her and cause bitter pain. 25 The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the womanâs hand and shall elevate the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar, 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion and turn it into smoke on the altar and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop,[c] and the woman shall become an execration among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be immune and be able to conceive children.
29 âThis is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husbandâs authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when a spirit of jealousy comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife, then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall apply this entire law to her. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.â Numbers. NRSV
Gen. 6
6 When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that they were fair, and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, âMy spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.â 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those daysâand also afterwardâwhen the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.
NRSV
Joshua 10
And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.
(The issue is that the sun doesnât move- Earth rotates and spins on itâs axis.)
Ephesians 4:9-10 King James Version (KJV)
Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
Hell or Australia? 
The entire Song of Solomon.
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Exodus 22:18.
You shall not permit a FEMALE sorcerer to live.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
18 âIf someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. 20 They shall say to the elders of his town, âThis son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.â 21 Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
- We need to enforce these passages todsy
- Old Testament- doesnât apply to us
- Jewish doesnât apply to Christians
- We live in a different world and shouldnât take these literally
- Not sure what to think
- Other
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Ancient people saw women as negotiated property. Punishments were severe, and death for things like disrespecting older generations was common.
You seem to have a long list.
Maybe itâs not the scriptures that have problems, rather our understanding of them.
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Our understanding is indeed part of the problem. These passages are some I have never heard a sermon on, or see folks shying away from.
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Itâs the twisting that is troublesome.
You are rightâ Often folks (including pastors) simply avoid those passages that they have difficulty explaining, and there are many. Much safer to side step or go around those theological puddles, knowing that they are likely much deeper than they might appear on the surface.
Rather than even attempting to explain the passages, the tendency is to âexplain them awayâ and essentially pretend that they say something other than what they actually do say.
Theological twister is the most popular game in the Church today.
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People also ignore the culture of the time period. We canât view ancient Middle Eastern people and their writings with a 21st century brain
This receives too much speculation and too little exegesis. âWho Are the Nephilim?â Dr. Michael L. Brown « TextsInContext
Iâm not judging anyone or knocking down churches.
Some of the hirelings go to seminary classes and think they are equipped to teach Gods word.
They canât understand revelation or old testament.
Try teaching 3 world ages or who kenites are or teach Jeremiah chapter 24, good figs and bad figs. They will call you fruit cake.
Because they canât understand meat of Gods word.
Hebrews chapter 5
They should be teachers of Gods word. But there still on milk.
Isaiah chapter 29, some shepherds eyes are closed to the truth.
And some shepherds are afraid of controversy. Afraid to Rick the boat.
Sometimes the truth will offend someone or hurt.
And its about money. Some churches cater to people. They teach tradition of men. If they offend them, the attendance goes down. They lose money.
There compromising Godâs word for profit.
These are hirelings.
There are some good shepherds.
Donât Rock the boat. Some churches are compromised.
The passage in 1Co about women and head coverings.
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Fifteen years ago many women in the patriarchal/quiverfull sect were all wearing head coverings. It seems to have died off. Sadly, fads are common in some groups in our shared faith.
I donât participate in Christian fads or trinket selling.
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